We may forget that earlier generations were concerned about the degradation of our environment and the loss of wildlife.

Under the motto, “Restore, Protect, Conserve”,  the National Wildlife Publishing Company issued a series of collectible wildlife postcards in 1939.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Wildlife_Federation

I believe that this is the publishing arm of the National Wildlife Federation, but I have not yet seen confirmation of that assumption.

This postcard is from the series on birds, and illustrates an oriole native to the western US.

Here is the Bullock’s Oriole, called the “Firebird”. 

It can be distinguished from orioles seen on the east coast by the black crown and large, white, patches on the wing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullock%27s_oriole

As a child, I looked for the suspended nest of the Baltimore Oriole that appeared each Spring on a large tree at the edge of the neighboring meadow.

The orioles tended to return and nest in the same large tree each year.

On the reverse of the postcard, the name “Jean Rae” is inscribed.

I suspect that this is the name of the collector.

Millions of bird-lovers, including school children, collected these images of birds.

Birds are one of the most-easily tracked harbingers of environmental decay – even a child can notice the absence of birds or the death of birds.

I have always been gladdened by the many avid “birders” who inhabit large urban areas, like New York City.

There is no place where one cannot observe and marvel at these feathered wildlife resources.